Where have I been? EVERYWHERE!

Wow – where do I start? The last few weeks have been a blur. A crazy, exhausting, nonstop blur of events that have seemed to both fly by and last forever. (How is that even possible?)

There’s no way to accurately describe everything that’s happened since my last post, but here are the highlights:

After nine hours of surgery, 45 staples down his belly and a week in the hospital, my dad has a brand-new, healthy, highly-functional kidney. Thanks to my stepmom, the skilled staff at UAB and the grace of God, Daddy now has the opportunity to live a fuller life. His great-big-nasty-looking kidneys were removed (I’ll spare you the picture) and he already looks like a new man. His cheeks are rosy again and those dark circles under his eyes have disappeared. He looks 15 years younger. I’m getting my daddy back.

My family from Minnesota came down last month so we could finally hold a memorial service for my grandmother. It was a bittersweet day. We smiled as we remembered her life, yet cried as we mourned her loss. My stepdad spoke at the service and I think he did an exceptional job. His words and frequent humor captured the moment perfectly and I know his mom would have been proud of the way he described her.

I celebrated my 26th birthday, officially beginning the “backslide to 30,” as my dear baby brother put it. I had a brief, “What am I doing with my life??” meltdown, but I think I’m okay now. I just can’t figure out why 25 sounds young, but 26 sounds so, so old. (I know it’s not really old. But it kind of feels that way.)

As a reward for making it through the craziness of Christmas, Derek and I spent New Year’s Eve in Destin at the Village of Baytowne Wharf. Despite the forecast, the rain held off and the temperature was in the low 60s. There were great cover bands, a street party, fireworks over the bay and amazing music at the Funky Blues Shack. We stayed at a condo on the property, so after a short tram ride, we were safely where we needed to be. Well… almost. We had to walk about a block to our condo. At that point, I was limping from wearing heels all night, so my sweet boyfriend gave me a piggyback ride. (It was most likely because I was walking too slow and he was ready to go to sleep. But it was still nice.)

And now I’m back at work for the first full week since the beginning of December. Which means I should probably go get busy. I don’t even know where to start.